L96a1

[chosenman]

Cman,

Can you show a pic of the rifle cover?

Marty, pictures of the action cover as requested.



---------- Post added at 04:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:33 PM ----------

The muzzle end - after the foresight on that rifle looks very long compared to mine.

Peter, took a quick pic of the two muzzle ends and both look pretty standard. I reckon the muzzle cover was messing with your peepers.

[Peter Laidler]

Some of these rifles came with a 'swirl' type flash eliminator that ............ well, it didn't do anything that the bog standard GPMG.L1A1 rifle flash eliminator didn't do! They said that it split the groups but how the ITDU arrived at that conclusion is a bit of a mystery to me. Anyway, they were removed and a longer bit of barrel was left exposed that was covered with a suitably cack-handed threaded sleeve.

[chosenman]

Peter,
This is the police swirl flash eliminator. Were the military examples similar?

[Peter Laidler]

THATS IT......... Yes..... We did have a few of those and there were a couple of the barrels in the workshop. I seem to recall that the ones we had were slightly longer but I'm probably mistaken. They were used in some trials of course and caused some problems. There were a load of spare barrels fitted with these things but because when they were deemed to be useless, the instruction was to remove them and just machine the step for the foresight block. Nobody told the workshop that had the breeching up kit that they were fitted with a left hand thread so they were pretty well butchered and the barrels graunched.

I heard that they were surplus Police barrels. Anyway........... The SF REME Armourer told me that they had a couple like it and the Police opted for them simply on the basis that SF had them. I say no more!!!!!

[m4carbine]

CMan,

I have, I have never seen one of those for the L96A1. Any chance you have a spare?

[chosenman]

Marty, unfortunately I don't and I wouldn't want to start adding up the hours I dedicated to searching for that one. Genuine L96 ancillaries seem to be particularly difficult to find and I'm guessing its because there's so little of it. If I stumble across anything I'll PM you.

[Gil Boyd]

Steve,
I take it the orange/red dumbell in the photo with your rifle is in the kit for biting on to, so you can absorb the recoil, just like they did in Sharps Rifles??

[Peter Laidler]

Off thread a bit, but anyone out there in the machine shop world hazzard a guess as to how you'd machine that fluted beast? What cutter? What shape of cutter? JM, can you help?

[chosenman]

Steve,
I take it the orange/red dumbell in the photo with your rifle is in the kit for biting on to, so you can absorb the recoil, just like they did in Sharps Rifles??

Hahahahahahah! No mate, it is mine and its what I bite down on every time I part with hard earned cash when buy a new toy for the eye watering prices some of the bits cost.

[Gil Boyd]

Peter,
For whats its worth
Its one hell of a cut on all the four "sides" of the barrel, but one chance cuts at that, you couldn't afford to fluff it.

I therefore suspect its a tumbling cutter, that comes into a well held down barrel with the blades turned manually from all sides and as it closes it cuts with a stop at the preset depth, but truly remarkable nevertheless.